Hearing Titanic
by WildFireWriter222
Summary: It's not strange for Levy to stay up late reading. Normally, she'd just get so caught up in her book that she wouldn't even notice the time fly. The strange aspect came when someone decided to play piano at midnight and break her from her nearly indestructible stupor.


_A/N: This was a valentine's present for one of my friends on tumblr for the Fairy Tail Valentine's Day Trade thingy. It's also really fluff (see? I can make happy stories too :3)_

* * *

Levy flips the crisp page of her book with enough force to almost tear it in two. Her eyes race over each letter, each word, each sentence, hardly allowing her brain enough time to comprehend what it all meant. The scene poured seamlessly into her mind; she didn't need to figure out what each word meant when she could see the characters and scenery so vividly.

The two lovers engaged in a vicious quarrel; their swords clashed and collided with the other. Blood streamed down a deep cut in the woman's cheek and she spit, revealing the slice had gone deeper than she had originally thought. The man held his sword with his left hand, his right cradled protectively against his side. They bared their teeth at the other and raised their swords for another attack.

Bystanders would not have known that they were together but Levy knew better. She could see in the way the woman's brows would furrow a fraction when the man would hiss. She could tell by the way the man hesitated and stutter-stepped before lunging. It was all an act. An act to keep them a secret. A perverted version of Romeo and Juliet.

She curled her feet under her as she turned another page. _Only a few more pages and it will all be over_ , Levy thought with tears in her eyes.

The man took a breath and lunged…

...as a single note rung out.

Levy blinked and ripped her gaze from her novel.

She paused.

Had she just imagined it? Was this story slowly ebbing away at her sanity?

A waterfall of soft bass notes followed suit.

A break.

She wasn't imagining it; someone was actually playing the piano.

Levy glanced at the clock above her stove. Midnight. She quirked her lips. Why was someone playing this late?

Faint higher notes joined in, waltzing around the subtle bass. They lifted and glided their way across the scale, the undertones guiding them the whole way. The treble clef was its own solo and the bass accompanied, never leaving the top, never faltering.

Her heart skipped. The room faded around her, disappearing into the dark of the night as the notes pulled her in.

She could practically see them dancing in perfect unison, the notes complimenting each other with every step. Her feet moved and the book slipped from her hand. She glided across the floor. Her cotton covered toes slid across the smooth hard wood of her apartment with as much grace and fragility as the high treble. A sweet waltz between the music and herself. She lifted her fingers to the cool metal door knob and twisted. She needed to hear more of it.

Levy poked her head into the dark corridor. A thin streak of moonlight sliced through the darkness, illuminating a sliver of the wood flooring with a pale blue hue. A comfortable cool washed over her as the almost silent air conditioning kicked on, driving away the still lingering muggy heat of yesterday's summer day.

Her eyes slide shut, allowing herself to meld with the music. She sighs.

Four distinct notes sound and she stops. Her eyes flash open. Her breath catches. She knows this song. She waits, listening for more just in case she's wrong.

Sure enough, the notes she had been anticipating floated down the hallway with a growing crescendo. A wave of excitement passed over her, drawing a smile to her lips. My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion. Though the piano instrumental was unfamiliar to her, she could recognize that chorus anywhere.

A crazy thought flew through her mind, a thought as reckless and carefree as that woman who had once raced down corridors chasing her lover. Yes it was stupid. Yes it was probably going to piss everyone off but she had to do it. She had to find who that was; she had to see who was making that beautiful music.

Heart racing, Levy opened her mouth.

"Jack!" she exclaimed, as if she were a pampered red-head from the early 1900's.

The music cut off, the last notes ringing out and disappearing into the rippling darkness.

Levy stilled, her fingers freezing in their position hovering in the air.

Nothing. No rest. No additional notes. The piano just stopped.

She messed up. She knew she shouldn't have done that. She shouldn't have been so reckless. She should have-

"Rose!" a voice shouted.

She gasped. He responded. And it was a _he._ Her heart flipped, begging to beat out of her chest.

She couldn't move; her feet cemented themselves to the floor. She tried to speak up, to yell back but her throat dried.

"Rose!" the gruff voice exclaimed again.

Levy blinked and shook her head. She had to say something back. Her lips broke into a smile, excitement rushing through her like waves on the ocean.

With shaking hands and aching cheeks she yelled, "Jack!"

A piano covering slammed shut. Footfalls echoed overhead, their heavy weight slamming into the flooring and racing down the hallway. Adrenaline shot through her like a bullet. He was running to her. Just like in the movie.

Levy giggled and darted down the hallway. She had to see who that was.

"Rose!" he exclaimed again.

His voice guided her forward, like the bass did with the treble.

Her giggles broke into a full on laugh.

"Jack!"

"Rose!"

"Shut up!" another voice yelled.

A blush flooded her cheeks but she kept running, laughing at her embarrassment.

Behind her, a blond head poked out from behind room 236. He ran a head through his disheveled hair, blinking the drowsiness from his eyes.

"What was all that about?" he mumbled, staring at Levy's shrinking back.

Another man approached from behind, wrapping his arms around the blond's waist with a yawn.

"It's probably just Levy reenacting another one of her stories again," he said, resting his chin on his boyfriend's shoulder. "Let's go back to sleep. I don't want to wake Frosch again."

Rogue smiled against the blond's back.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea," he murmured placing a hand over Rogue's.

Sting chuckled, shutting the door.

Levy slammed into the wall with an _oof!_ , her momentum almost causing her to miss the door. Her cheeks hurt from her endless smiling but she couldn't help herself. Her body was moving on pure impulse at this point and she couldn't stop it. Not that she wanted to.

Her heart beat into overdrive as she fumbled to slide her keycard down the reader. Shaky fingers reached for the door handle, not waiting for the green light or beep. She wrenched the door open and bolted up the stairs.

She stalled as she placed a foot on the first step of the second floor. Where was she going? She didn't know what floor he was coming from. She didn't even know if she had accidentally passed it already.

"Jack!" she called out again, hoping that he was closer than she thought.

She continued her ascent, praying that they didn't pass each other.

What if she missed him? What if he missed her? What if-

"Rose!" his voice rang out, echoing off the metal stairs.

His boots pounded against the steel bars.

He was close. Just another floor.

Levy huffed, her legs burning. She was so close. She couldn't let her body stop her, even if it was only built for reading and writing.

Three more steps.

She bounded up the last few stairs, her eyes trained on the floor so her feet wouldn't slip.

Her head collided with a huge solid wall, sending her flying backwards. Levy yelped as her body felt weightless and her feet almost left the ground. A firm hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her forward. Her feet could touch again and she threw an arm out to balance herself.

Her eyes drifted to the thick hand that wrapped completely around her wrist, his fingers overlapping each other. She paused and eyed the hand. Her gaze slowly followed the curve and bumps of his large arm. She basically had to break her neck to look him in the eye but when she did, she found herself unable to move. His eyes mirrored that of the dark and restless sea of 1912, churning and mysterious but hiding something captivating.

He stared back at her, lips parted. He opened his mouth to speak but his words died on his tongue. A dusting of pink spread across his cheeks and nose making him almost glow like a beacon in the dim stairwell.

He coughed. Levy blinked, realizing that she had been staring too long. She gasped and dropped her eyes to her ensnared wrist.

The man paused for a moment then grunted, removing his hand.

Levy dropped her arms and twisted her fingers together, as if weaving the web the two of them were now caught in.

"Th-thank you," she starting, her nerves almost overwhelming her, "for catching me. I don't think I'd be able to read that much with a concussion."

The man said nothing at first. She felt his eyes on her but she refused to look up, still too nervous after not only face planting into him but almost breaking her neck after. He grunted and muttered a quick "you're welcome" under his breath.

Levy drew in a shaky breath. She'd have to face him again at some point, right? Might as well do it now and get it out of the way. She opened her eyes and lifted her head, sticking her trembling fists into her sweatshirt pockets. He quickly shifted his gaze away from her. As if she couldn't tell he had been staring before.

"Was that you playing the piano?" she murmured.

His Adam's apple bobbed slowly and she prayed that he couldn't hear her breath hitch when it all but echoed along their small island of metal.

"Yeah? And what if it was?" he answered, his voice nonchalant yet unable to hide its slight quiver.

Levy's lips tugged into a small smile.

"It's just that," she almost whispered, "you were playing my favorite song: My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion."

He gently turned back to her, his pierced eyebrows losing their harsh bend a fraction. His lips parted again and the fists that he had been hiding behind his back slackened and fell back to his sides.

"I take it you're Rose? The one screaming 'Jack' like a crazed lunatic down the hallway?" he guessed.

Levy smirked and cocked her hip, Rose's confidence returning to her.

"Gee. I have no idea. What could have given you that idea?" she said.

His face broke into a large toothy grin that made Levy's heart swoon. He mimicked her, placing his own hands on his hips.

"I just wanted to check. I didn't think a loud voice like that could come from a shrimp like you," he retorted.

Normally, Levy would have decked someone for making a short joke about her but tonight, she wasn't Levy. She was Rose DeWitt Bukater, a bold and self-assured woman who found quips like these amusing, especially when said by her Jack. Levy burst into giggles, covering her mouth in an attempt to hide them in vain.

The man smirked and straightened his posture by a hair. The sunset blush returned to his cheeks reminding Levy of the colors that certainly adorned her own face.

She wiped imaginary tears from her eyes and glanced back at him. His piercings no longer scrunched in the middle and his eyes softened revealing a warmth Levy had barely detected earlier. He gave her that look, the one she had read the main love interest give his lover in her novel that surely lay bent and forgotten in her apartment. The one where everything else fades and they look at you as if you're the whole world and nothing else exists. The one where you know, you just _know_ , that you're special. And even though they had met not a few minutes earlier, she could already see the beginnings of that very same look in his eyes.

Levy bit her lip, deciding to take one more step with Rose's guidance.

"Would you-"

"D'you-"

They both stopped, eyes wide before Levy broke into giggles yet again. The man, Gajeel she would later learn, chuckled under his breath.

"I mean...would you...d'you maybe want to-" he started.

Levy grinned and placed her small finger against his thin lips, cutting him off. Rose had fully taken over and she had no qualms against it.

"How about coffee? There's a shop just down the road that my friend and I go to all the time," she said. "You can pick me up around 8, ok? Room 224. How does that sound?"

Gajeel blinked, astonished that such a little girl could have such a commanding presence. His jaw brushed the floor as he struggled to form words. To form noises. Anything. Her smile completely stunned him, cementing his body to the stairs as if his body was a part of that same metal. It seemed to light up the room and drove away the shadows around them. He was completely caught off guard by how much this small girl could have such a strong hold on him. He didn't mind and he didn't care if he froze in place, staring endlessly into her bright eyes and blinding grin.

He coughed and tried to clear his throat in order for words to properly flow. But even then, it didn't work.

"I...um...yeah...sure…" he managed but she was already racing back down the stairs.

Gajeel stood there. Just stood there. Too shocked to move. Too astonished to breathe. The only thing he could register was the frantic beat of his heart, the unending burning of his face, and the fact that he was going on a date with one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen. It was moments like these that Gajeel reflects and realizes that though they had just met and spent a few minutes together, they really were like the fated duo aboard that grand ship.


End file.
